Indeed, even by the standards of Wall Street, where many financial types pull down eye-popping paychecks, Mr. El-Erian and Mr. Gross make gobs of money. Mr. El-Erian, 53, was paid about $100 million last year, according to a person with knowledge of Pimco’s finances who spoke on condition of anonymity because the firm, a unit of Allianz, the big German financial company, doesn’t disclose compensation.

To put that in perspective, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase and one of the most powerful figures in American finance, got a quarter of that. Mr. Gross, 68, made about $200 million last year, according to the person with knowledge of Pimco’s finances.